KR20170091649A - Multi-frequency directional access point communication - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a technique for separating communication between a base station access point and a user equipment across a band according to various qualities of service requirements. Universal broadcast to the client device, low throughput communication (e.g., uplink communication) and initial user device detection may be achieved using an omnidirectional Television White Space (TVWS) broadcast. Bandwidth intensive communication (e.g., downlink communication) can be handled with a directional, beam-steered WIFI channel. The base station may adjust the steering based on user equipment information such as location information. Techniques include beamforming, packet handling at base stations, and enhancements to devices associated with directional communication.

Description

[0001] MULTI-FREQUENCY DIRECTIONAL ACCESS POINT COMMUNICATION [0002]

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 087,423, filed December 4, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 948,849, filed November 23, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method for communicating between an access point (AP) and one or more user devices over various radio frequency channels.

Users are increasingly demanding ubiquitous wireless coverage for their devices and resisting bandwidth or limitations on the maximum range. TVWS (Television White Space) frequency can soon compensate for the available frequency to accommodate this demand. For purposes of this specification, "TVWS" generally refers to a frequency range of less than about 700 MHz, while "WIFI" Refers to frequencies within +/- 0.8 GHz range of 2.4 GHz and +/- 0.8 GHz range of 5 GHz in general. Since the TVWS range (e.g., the upper 500-700 MHz band) is typically lower than a WIFI signal (e.g., communications using about 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), the TVWS signal travels a greater distance than the higher frequency channel, Lt; / RTI > Unfortunately, low frequency TVWS channels may be less suitable for higher bandwidth applications.

Device manufacturers employ a "chipset" that is typically provided by various companies for e.g. digital communications. For example, chipsets exist for IEEE 802.11 WIFI, cellular communications, and the like. Some chipsets may soon provide the ability to switch between TVWS and WIFI communication channels, but it is unclear how the channels should be used and how traffic should be allocated between them. The workaround of the TVWS and WIFI functions may result in little improvement compared to the previous approach despite the replacement of the new chipset or the modification of the existing chipset. Thus, there is a need for a system and method that recognizes relative advantages and limitations while supplementing user connectivity with these new channels.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention are particularly disclosed in the appended claims to methods, storage media, systems and computer program products, and any feature referred to in a claim category, e.g., a method, may be claimed in another claim category, e.g., a system . The citation or reference of the appended claims is only selected for formal reasons. However, any subject arising from an intentional reference to any preceding claim (particularly multiple citations) may also be claimed, and any combination of the claims and any features thereof may be claimed and claimed regardless of the citation selected in the appended claims. The subject matter which may be claimed includes any other combination of features of the claims as well as combinations of features as indicated in the appended claims wherein each feature mentioned in the claims is combined with any other feature of the claims or a combination of different features . Furthermore, any embodiment and features described or illustrated herein may be claimed in a separate claim and / or in combination with any feature, feature or structure described or illustrated herein, or any feature of the appended claims. have.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the access point comprises:

A first antenna configured for transmission using a TVWS (Television White Space) frequency;

An antenna array configured for directional transmission on a WIFI frequency; And

At least one processor,

Receive a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;

Determine location information associated with the user device;

Determine a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And

And a processor configured to transmit the second message over the WIFI frequency to the user device using a beam steering arrangement and an antenna array.

The location information may be directional and determining the location information may include receiving the first message in succession at the two antennas.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the one or more processors may be further configured to wait for a period exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window comprises one or more chips and one or more antennas, To the WIFI function.

The location information may be a location retrieved from the TVWS database.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the access point may further comprise a second antenna configured to provide non-directional wireless communication, and the range of the second antenna may be at least about 20% of the range of the first antenna.

The range of the antenna array may be at least 90% of the range of the first antenna.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the method comprises:

Receiving an uplink communication from the user equipment only on the TVWS frequency; And

And transmitting the downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering arrangement to the user equipment.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the user communication device comprises:

At least one processor;

At least one processor:

Providing position information to an access point using a TVWS frequency; And

And receiving beam-steered communications using the WIFI frequency based on the location information. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > [0010] < / RTI >

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the user communication device may further comprise an array configured to provide beam-steered communication using WIFI frequencies and an omnidirectional antenna configured to provide communications using TVWS frequencies.

The location information may be a location retrieved from the geographic location database.

The location information may include a unique identifier associated with the user communication device.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the method comprises:

Transmitting an uplink communication to the access point only on the TVWS frequency; And

And receiving the downlink communication on the WIFI frequency only using the beam-steering configuration from the access point.

The downlink communication may include CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a computer implemented method comprises:

Receiving a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;

Determining location information associated with the user device;

Determining a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And

And transmitting the second message using the WIFI frequency to the user device using the beam steering arrangement.

The location information may be directional and the step of determining location information may comprise receiving the first message in succession at the two antennas.

In one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, the method may further include waiting for a period of time exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window includes a WIFI function from the TVWS on one or more chips and one or more antennas As shown in FIG.

The location information may be a location retrieved from the TVWS database.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a computer-implemented method comprises receiving an uplink communication on a TVWS frequency from a user equipment only; And

And transmitting the downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering arrangement to the user equipment.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a computer implemented method comprises:

And transmitting the CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data using a beam steering arrangement.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media may comprise software operable when executed to perform the method according to the present invention or any of the above-described embodiments.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a system comprises: at least one processor; And at least one memory coupled to the processor and including instructions executable by the processor, wherein the processor is operable when executed to perform the method according to the present invention or any of the above-described embodiments.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a computer program product, preferably comprising a computer-readable non-volatile storage medium, is operable when executed on a data processing system to perform the method according to the invention or any of the above- .

Are included in the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments disclosed herein may be better understood with reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like or functionally similar elements:
1 is a block diagram illustrating a topology for dual WIFI / TVWS access points and various dual WIFI / TVWS devices that may occur in some embodiments.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components in the topology of FIG. 1, in which the user equipment and access point participate in a TVWS exchange that may occur in some embodiments.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein the access point provides directional WIFI coverage to the user equipment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating various components from the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein the access point employs beam steering to provide directional WIFI coverage to a plurality of user equipments.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating various components from the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein the access point employs beam steering and beamforming to provide directional WIFI coverage to a plurality of user equipments.
6A is a block diagram illustrating the relative coverage of a 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz (WIFI) to a 500 MHz (TVWS) channel with one or more omnidirectional wireless antennas that may occur in some embodiments; 6B is a block diagram illustrating the relative coverage of a directional 2.4 GHz signal versus an omnidirectional 500 MHz signal that may occur in some embodiments.
7 is a high-level block diagram illustrating an example of a network topology that may provide uplink and downlink functionality for WIFI and TVWS media, respectively, which may occur in some embodiments.
8 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for managing an answering user device at an access point, which may occur in some embodiments.
9 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for directionally and omnidirectionally managing a user device at an access point, which may occur in some embodiments.
10 is a frequency diagram illustrating down conversion for switching from 802.11ac to 802.11af functionality, which may occur in some embodiments.
Figure 11 is a table showing the theoretical data rates for 802.11ac with 20-40 MHz channels, SISO, which may be relevant for some embodiments.
12 is a table illustrating the theoretical data rates for 802.11af with 6, 7, 8 MHz channels, SISO, which may be related to some embodiments.
Figure 13 is a table illustrating the speed relationship for various SINRs and modes that may occur in some embodiments.
14 is a flow chart illustrating a process for rate scaling that may be implemented in some embodiments.
15 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system that may be used to implement features of some embodiments.
Although the flow charts and sequence diagrams presented herein illustrate configurations that are designed to make human readers more understandable, the actual data structures used to store this information may differ from those shown, May be configured in a different manner, may contain more or less information than is shown, may be compressed and / or encrypted, and so on.
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the embodiments. Also, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments. Similarly, some components and / or operations may be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for purposes of discussion of some embodiments. Furthermore, while the various embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments may be shown by way of illustration in the following drawings and detailed description. However, the intention is not to limit the specific embodiments described.

The TV White Space (TVWS) frequency allows for easier passage of physical objects and longer distances of communication than that used in Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequencies, such as WIFI communications. However, the TVWS frequency generally accepts less bandwidth than the ISM frequency. The disclosed various embodiments separate the communication between the base station access point and the user equipment and take advantage of each frequency band. In particular, universal broadcast, low throughput communication (e.g., uplink communication from the user device to the access point) and initial user detection to the client device may be achieved using an omnidirectional TVWS broadcast. On the other hand, bandwidth intensive communication (e.g., downlink communication from an access point to a user equipment) may be handled by a directional beam-steered WIFI channel (e.g., a WIFI communication antenna that interferes with and creates a directional gain from each other). The base station may adjust the steering based on user equipment information, such as location information. Improvements in device association with beamforming, packet processing at the base station, and directional communication are also contemplated.

Various examples of the disclosed embodiments will now be described in more detail. The following description makes it possible to explain these examples and provides specific details for a thorough understanding. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments discussed herein may be practiced without many of these details. Similarly, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments may include a number of other obvious features not described in detail herein. In addition, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail below in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

The terminology used hereinafter will be interpreted in the most broadly rational manner, but it is used in conjunction with the detailed description of specific embodiments of the examples. Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below, but any term that is intended to be interpreted in any limited manner will be expressly and specifically defined in this section.

summary - Of the topology  example

Most TVWS spectra may not be currently used. For example, in the United States, the TV spectrum portion of less than 700 MHz is still available and not officially associated with any particular application. In some cases, the channel in this portion may be 6 MHz wide.

The 802.11af and 802.22 standards limit data transmission in this available spectrum. In some implementations proposed in this standard, the device detects unoccupied channels and allocates them for use. A database (e.g., a geodatabase) can be used to integrate and track user device location and channel availability.

Device-based chipsets can provide operation in the TVWS range in the near future. These systems can add TVWS functionality to existing WIFI chipsets (e.g., implement 802.11af aspects). For example, these chipsets can use TVWS as a precaution when WIFI coverage falls. TVWS can enable this countermeasure as TVWS achieves a larger range (e.g., a lower frequency that can penetrate the wall).

1 is a block diagram illustrating a topology between dual WIFI / TVWS access points and various dual WIFI / TVWS devices that may occur in some embodiments. (The ordinary skilled artisan will appreciate that an "access point" Lt; / RTI > The mobile user devices 120a and 120b and the fixed devices 115a and b are configured to access the access point 105 to communicate with the third party servers 130a-c via, for example, the network 125 You can try. However, devices 120a and 115a are within WIFI range 140b of access point 105, while devices 115b and 120b are beyond WIFI range 140b (e.g., device 120b is within access point 105) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > WIFI < / RTI > However, the devices 115b and 120b are still within the TVWS range 135b of the access point 105 (similarly, the access point 105 may be within the TVWS range 135a of the device 120b). Thus, various embodiments may perform initial communication (e.g., the discovery of the presence of a user device of the access point) using the TVWS. The access point 105 may include an antenna array 110 that enables focused beam steering and / or beamforming in the WIFI band while the omnidirectional WIFI range of the access point may not extend to user devices 120b and 115b. (Some embodiments may employ multiple antennas for the TVWS band).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components in the topology of FIG. 1, in which the user equipment and access point participate in a TVWS exchange that may occur in some embodiments. In Figure 2, user device 120b and access point 105 participate in the TVWS exchange. In some embodiments, the access point may sense the presence of a user device on the TVWS channel, e.g., while user device 120b emits an omnidirectional TVWS packet (or conversely, while access point 105 is emitting a TVWS packet) . User device 120b may communicate information about the location of the user equipment to the access point via a TVWS packet. Alternatively, the access point may be able to access the geodatabase at an approximate location of the user device based on the TVWS packet (e.g., server device 130b). FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein the access point provides directional WIFI coverage to the user equipment. For example, after sensing the user device 120b, the access point 105 may use the antenna array 110 to steer the directional beam 305 from the WIFI channel to the user device 120b. Traffic-intensive communication (e.g., applications that exchange large amounts of data) may occur in this directional beam, while low priority communications may occur in an omni-directional TVWS channel.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating various components from the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein the access point employs beam steering to provide directional WIFI coverage to a plurality of user equipments. For example, the access point 105 has steered the beam from the user device 120b to the user device 120c. The directional coverage may be actively provided to each user device continuously (e.g., the access point may repeat through known user devices and provide acceptability in the entire range 410).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating various components from the topology of FIG. 1, which may occur in some embodiments, wherein access point 105 employs beam steering and beamforming to provide directional WIFI coverage to multiple user devices do. In particular, some embodiments employ both beamforming and beam steering to optimize reception at various user equipments. A narrower, more reaching beam 510 may be applied to communicate with user device 120c, but a wider and closer beam 505 may be used to communicate with device 120b. Beamforming may be applied to avoid interference between neighboring user devices. In some embodiments, the WIFI beamformed range may correspond to the TVWS range, while in other embodiments the WIFI beamformed range may be in the range preceding the TVWS range or beyond the TVWS range. Although shown concurrently herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that beams 505 and 510 may occur at different times (e.g., they may be formed continuously by array 110).

Relative Coverage

6A is a block diagram illustrating the relative coverage of a 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz (WIFI) to a 500 MHz (TVWS) channel with one or more omnidirectional wireless antennas that may occur in some embodiments. Circle 605 reflects an example of a TVWS range for an access point that may be through a 4 dBi omnidirectional antenna operating at 500 MHz. Circle 610 reflects an example of a range of 4 dBi omnidirectional antennas operating at 5.4 GHz. Circle 620a reflects an example of a range of 18dBi omnidirectional antennas operating at 2.4GHz. As indicated, the range corresponding to circle 620a is 2.1 times the range corresponding to circle 610. [ Similarly, the circle 605 corresponds to a range of about ten times the range corresponding to the circle 610. [

Some embodiments employ Broadcom® and / or MediaTek® 2016 triband chips to cover TVWS functionality as described herein. Embodiments can enable WIFI to beam steer a high bandwidth signal within a large ad hoc cell. Some embodiments may provide nearly 100% reduction in Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) / CA overhead, which may reduce throughput and cause congestion collapse (e.g., if too many WIFI user devices are in the network) . Therefore, the TVWS connection between the user equipment and the access point is: an uplink signal; New user device discovery; User device geocoding; A link broadcast CSMA / CA signal processing for a broadcast message from a user device and a RTS / CTS (Request-To-Send / Clear-To-Send) message.

Figure 6b illustrates the relative coverage of a directional 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz versus omnidirectional 500 MHz signal that may occur in some embodiments. The directional coverage 620b may reflect, in some embodiments, 18 dBi gain for a 2.4 GHz directional signal achieved using, for example, an antenna array. If the user equipment is located in the area 625 outside the TVWS range of the circle 605, the beam associated with the directional coverage 620b may not be detected by the access point until it is steered in that direction. (E.g., the 2.4 GHz signal received at the access point is less than the noise floor) at this distance.

Some omnidirectional WIFI systems use CSMA / CA with multiple nodes. However, multiple nodes with directional antennas may indicate situations in which the antennas can not sense each other. In this situation, CSMA may not only be undesirable but also not operate (e.g., a collision may occur, but the device controlling the antenna will remain unaware of the presence of another antenna). By using directional transmission, for example, by using beam steering, these problems can be mitigated. Because of its increased range, TVWS employs an omnidirectional antenna instead, which makes it possible to apply CSMA without difficulty.

network Topology

7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a network topology providing uplink (from client device to access point) and downlink (from access point to client device) functionality on WIFI and TVWS media, respectively, which may occur in some embodiments. Level block diagram. The access point 710 may communicate with a moving vehicle 705c, various user devices 705b, and fixed dwelling devices 705a and 705d. Although shown in this specification as providing bidirectional communication to each of the TVWS and WIFI channels, a typical technician is in some embodiments limited to only one-way communications (either to or from access point 710) As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

With respect to the 2.4 / 5GHz WIFI downlink, the WIFI downlink can be directional (e.g., using beam steering) and transmit large amounts of data at high throughput rates available due to large channel bandwidth at either 5GHz or 2.4GHz. The WIFI downlink does not need to be a CSMA / CA in some embodiments, but may be a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme that is by default more generic, e.g., without collision avoidance or carrier detection. The beamforming to the user equipment may be based on the initial position correction derived from the TVWS geolocation reported data. More specifically with respect to the wireless downlink, some embodiments partition based on Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, rather than simply the bandwidth for the downlink and the division of the bandwidth for the uplink. Higher throughput data with (possibly) slower latency requirements can be communicated using the 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz channel. Low throughput data with faster latency requirements can use the TVWS channel. For example, in some embodiments, these operations are generally low throughput, so that all uplink operations and all other CSMA / CA control signaling can occur in the TVWS channel. The WIFI uplink may be used to perform carrier detection of unused or periodic external interference (e.g., from other access points).

For the TVWS downlink, the downlink may broadcast CSMA / CA signaling and channel control features including BTS ACK and RTS / CTS. With respect to the TVWS uplink, the uplink can transmit lower bandwidth uplink data at a lower processing speed since the channel bandwidth may be smaller. The uplink includes all signaling required by the MAC, e.g., an ACK from the user equipment to identify the received downlink data; RTS / CTS and so on. The TVWS uplink may follow any CSMA / CA backoff required by the MAC, e.g., standby / detection during DIFS, random / exponential backoff interval, beacon listening from a new user device, and so on.

Examples of inbound user device management processes

8 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for managing an answering user device at an access point, which may occur in some embodiments. At block 805, the access point system may recognize the new user device via TVWS. If a new user is not detected, then at block 810, the access point may manage the existing directional and non-directional clients (e.g., a general no-supplement to the location of the client device, supplemented by intermittent beam- Directional 802.11ac / 802.11af operation).

If a new user is detected at block 815, then at block 820 the system can determine whether the location of the user device can be ascertained from the TVWS data (e.g., from the packet content itself, or by reference to the geodatabase) ). If at block 815 the user's location can not be inferred based on TVWS data, then at block 825, the system may attempt to determine the location of the user device based on the amplitude / receiver directionality (e.g., The TVWS antenna is available, the system can attempt to determine the direction by comparing the arrival time of the signal and the distance to the user based on the received amplitude). If the user location can be detected based on the TVWS receiver directionality, then at block 830 the system can deduce the location of the user.

If at block 835 the location of the user is identified and found to be suitable for directional communication (e.g., within a directional WIFI range, having a sufficiently precise location, etc.), then at block 840, It can be specified as appropriate. At block 845, the system may determine an appropriate beam steering / forming parameter for the new device based on its location and / or the location of another user device within the area.

If the location of the new user device can not be established, some embodiments may attempt to determine at block 850 whether the nondirective WIFI communication is suitable for the new user device. If the new device is in the omni-directional range, WIFI communication may be used at block 860. On the other hand, in block 855, communication with the device may continue exclusively on the TVWS. The user device may then be initiated in the network at block 865. The designation of the new device at block 810 may be periodically reassessed during management of devices present in the network.

Examples of Directional Management Processes

9 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for directionally and omnidirectionally managing a user device at an access point, which may occur in some embodiments. At block 905, the system may process an omnidirectional client (e.g., communication over an omnidirectional WIFI network in accordance with the Ethernet protocol). If there is a directional client to process at block 910, then at block 915, the system may consider the next directional client and may perform beam steering to that client at block 920. If desired, in some embodiments, beamforming may be performed at block 925 (e.g., to avoid interference with nearby user equipment or access points). At block 930, downlink communication via the directional WIFI signal from the access point to the user equipment may be performed. If at block 935 the uplink client data reflects the new position, then at block 940 the system may adjust the corresponding beam steering / forming based on the new relative position. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that in some embodiments adjustment based on uplink data may occur prior to each beam steering / forming. In some embodiments, the adjustment may take place irrespective of the uplink data, e.g., based on changes in the environment, new data in the geodatabase, changes in bandwidth requirements, and the like.

Chipset Ripper posing

As referred to herein, some use a chipset that provides both WIFI and TVWS functionality, or multiple chipsets that provide individual WIFI and TVWS functionality. However, various embodiments attempt to ripple existing WIFI / wireless chipsets (e.g., providing only WIFI functionality) to operate in the lower spectral range, such as TVWS instead. Various embodiments contemplate achieving this in a different manner.

Chipset Ripper posing  - example Scheme  One - Down conversion

In some embodiments, a chipset designed for WIFI functionality only is used to downconvert the signal. This can maintain the signal bandwidth, but provides different carrier frequencies (e.g., by lowering the carrier frequency to 500 MHz, but also by down-clocking at the modulator). Some embodiments sample in the frequency domain to narrow the channel carrier to 6 MHz chunks and then move the chunks to lower frequencies. Some embodiments perform channel combining (e.g., combining antenna interfaces to improve throughput). Multi-channel carriers can be used for combining, e.g., adjacent channel carriers can be combined or integrated across bands.

10 is a frequency diagram illustrating down conversion for switching from 802.11ac to 802.11af functionality, which may occur in some embodiments. Some embodiments implement aspects of 802.11af functionality using an 802.11ac 40 MHz channel PHY down-clocked by 7.5x. This can generate a 6 MHz, 7 MHz or 8 MHz channel with a duration of approximately 7.5x long symbol / GI. The spectral efficiency between the two can be similar to 802.11ac (but may be slightly less in some cases due to the long symbol time). However, the data rate may be scaled down accordingly (e.g., due to the smaller channel bandwidth).

When switching from 802.11ac to 802.11af, 144 carriers can be separated more widely. Subcarrier separation may be reduced, but the symbol duration / guard interval may increase (e.g., from 800 ns to 6 μs). The spectral efficiency can be reduced (~ 12%) and the channel bandwidth can also be reduced (e.g., from 40 MHz to 6 MHz). The data rate can be linearly scaled according to the channel bandwidth. Thus, traffic assignment between the 2.4 GHz / 5 Hz and TVWS channels can take these different parameters into account.

802.11af can provide spectral sharing by implementing a geographic location database (e.g., within 50 meters of the actual location) and / or spectral detection. 802.11af can support channel combinations of up to 4W, or 2W + 2W (W = 6MHz to 8MHz based on local TV channel width). Figure 11 is a table showing the theoretical data rates for 802.11ac with 20-40 MHz channels, SISO, which may be relevant for some embodiments. 12 is a table illustrating the theoretical data rates for 802.11af with 6, 7, 8 MHz channels, SISO, which may be related to some embodiments.

Chipset Ripper posing  - example Scheme  2 - MIMO (Multi-Input-Multi-Output)

802.11af can also support MIMO transmission (up to four spatial streams). Therefore, some embodiments have up to four spatial streams and multiply the bandwidth by four. While WIFI with higher throughput than TVWS may be used for data intensive downlink (e.g., when a user streams video), lower throughput / bandwidth uplink from user device to access point may use TVWS (E.g., using a dual mode chipset). Some embodiments may perform a QoS evaluation to determine which of WIFI or TVWS to use. TVWS can provide substantial physical range and may be more suitable than WIFI for some tasks.

SINR (Signal-To-Interference-Plus-Noise) table

Figure 13 is a table illustrating the speed relationship for various SINRs and modes that may occur in some embodiments. If SINR is provided, the system can select the corresponding speed in the speed table. The contention ratio of the channel of TVWS or WIFI can be considered and the maximum achievable rate can be selected based thereon. The SINR measurement method and rate table format may be hardware specific. For example, it may be based on an implementation of the chipset designer to achieve some desired level of performance.

Access Point Function

The access point may have one or more TVWS transceivers (500MHz-700MHz) and one or more WIFI transceivers (2.4GHz and 5GHz).

UE (User Equipment) function

The UE function (i. E., The user equipment function) may be determined by the access point based on WIFI alone, or whether WIFI and TVWS operation is performed.

UE  function - WIFI  private

Operation by an access point in at least one WIFI channel may be the minimum functionality required in some embodiments. For the highest backward compatibility, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is assumed and may be referred to herein as 802.11ac, but 802.11a / b / g / n may also be included in some embodiments.

UE  function - WIFI  Dedicated - Access Point Configuration # 1

In these embodiments, a 2.4 GHz transceiver may be dedicated to performing standard 802.11ac Wi-Fi with the client in this network. Although not all embodiments employ 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz may be used instead. Some embodiments may use both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels.

UE  function - WIFI  And TVWS

In some embodiments, the UE is capable of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and TVWS (802.11af) operation. The chipset may be a tri band covering these three spectral bands.

UE  function - WIFI  And TVWS  - Access Point Configuration # 2

At 2.4GHz and 5GHz, a typical 802.11ac Wi-Fi can adopt this configuration, where the data rate exceeds the data rate of 802.11af (for example when the client is very close to the BTS). 802.11af may be applied instead when the data rate of 802.11af exceeds 802.11ac (for example when the client is far from the BTS). 14 is a flow chart illustrating a process for rate scaling that may occur in some embodiments. In some embodiments, a hysteresis window is employed as indicated to prevent " ping pong " between the TVWS and WIFI configuration at the access point (e.g., switching more frequently than desirable between standards when the data rates of TVWS and WIFI are approximately equal) . Instead of applying a hysteresis condition, TVWS or WIFI can be selected by default when speed is adequate and there is no congestion. Some embodiments implement the disclosed features as a logical implementation of the MAC layer by a tri-band TVWS chip vendor. The various embodiments may be backwards compatible with configuration # 1.

In the example of this process, at block 1405, the system can measure the WIFI and TVWS signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) and also detect any possible channel contention. At block 1410, the system may then determine a suitable rate by accessing a rate table based on the determined SINR and channel contention. At block 1415, if the highest available rate determined in the table is for WIFI, then at block 1440 the system may then determine whether the hysteresis window is exceeded. If so, WIFI may be used with a periodic TVWS evaluation during a communication session at block 1445. [

If it is determined at block 1415 that TVWS instead provided the highest possible speed, then at block 1420 the system can then determine whether WIFI beam steering is enabled (in some embodiments, It can be evaluated to determine if steering is appropriate). If steered is enabled / appropriate, at block 1425, the access point may apply beam steering to communication with the client. If, on the other hand, beam steering is not available / insufficient, then at block 1430 the system may determine whether the hysteresis window has exited. If so, the TVWS may be used with a periodic WIFI evaluation during a communication session at block 1435. [

UE  function - WIFI  And TVWS  - Access Point Configuration # 3

Unlike time division duplex (TDD) communications, which may be employed in the two access point configurations, some embodiments implement a frequency division duplex (FDD) communication mechanism. The TVWS frequency can be used for some specific functions, and the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies can be used for complementary feature sets. The assignment of functions to the spectrum frequency band may be adaptive based on the environment and may not be completely distinguished. For clarity, the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies may be referred to herein as " high band " and the TVWS frequency may be referred to as " low band ".

In one possible assignment of the functions to the frequency band at the access point, the low band can implement the normal 802.11 CSMA / CA MAC (Media Access Control) function. These " control " functions may include all mechanisms required for channel access control (ACK, backoff, RTS / CTS, etc.).

The high band can implement a modified TDMA MAC. This MAC may not use carrier detection and collision avoidance or pre-scheduled (deterministic) time slots. Instead, the MAC may follow the " control " information delivered to handle all intra-cell contention from the low band. For inter-cell contention (interference with other networks), the high-band transceiver can periodically stop transmission to detect interference from the external network, change to a channel without interference, or return to configuration # 2.

In order to increase the range of the high band, the access point may use a directional antenna for the high band transceiver. The antenna may employ a conventional phased array to achieve antenna gain in certain predetermined directions. The deterministic beam steering of the antenna array may allow for antenna gain in the direction of any given UE. In this case, RF signals from multiple antennas may be combined prior to ADC (Analog-to-Digital Conversion) to achieve antenna gain in a given direction. A number of transmit / receive chains may also be employed (e.g., the signal is combined after the ADC) to achieve an SINR gain (e.g., via digital signal processing beamforming) or a capacitor gain (e.g., via MIMO).

In some embodiments, if there is a combination of a user device with and without a TVWS capability on the network: a) for a user device without a TVWS transceiver, the system (most commonly) You can follow Configuration # 1, which can be used for -Fi; b) For user equipment with a TVWS transceiver, a 5 GHz transceiver may be used for FDD communication as discussed herein (in this case "high band" refers only to the 5 GHz spectrum).

The antenna in the user equipment may be omnidirectional or directional. In some embodiments, when a new client joins the network, the process may follow the normal WIFI MAC protocol (e.g., on a low band frequency). If the client is out of range of low-band frequencies, the client can not join the network. The client may provide geographic location information to the access point when joining the network, or may cause the access point to refer to the geographic location database (e.g., by providing a unique identifier). In some embodiments, it is a prerequisite for the client to know the geographic location to use the TVWS spectrum. In some embodiments, this information may be reused to steer the highband radiation pattern beam toward the geographic location of the client.

The allocation of various other possible functions to the frequency bands coincides with this network topology and infrastructure. For example, the function may be dynamically allocated to the low and high bands using some predetermined figure of merit. Figure 14 shows an example where the figure of merit is SINR, but it may be some higher layer measurement, such as another channel quality indicator or total throughput currently employed in the WIFI MAC.

Computer system

15 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system that may be used to implement features of some embodiments. Computing system 1500 may include one or more central processing units ("processors") 1505, memory 1510, input / output devices 1525 (e.g., keyboard and pointing devices, display devices), storage devices 1520 (E.g., a disk drive), and a network adapter 1530 (e.g., a network interface) coupled to interconnect 1515. Interconnect 1515 is shown as an obturator that represents either one or more separate physical buses, point-to-point connections, or both connected by appropriate bridges, adapters, or controllers. Thus, the interconnect 1515 may include, for example, a system bus, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus or a PCI-Express bus, a HyperTransport or Industry Standard Architecture serial bus, an IIC (I2C) bus or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394 bus, also referred to as "Firewire ".

Memory 1510 and storage 1520 are computer-readable storage media capable of storing instructions that implement at least some of the various embodiments. In addition, the data structure and message structure may be stored or transmitted over a data transmission medium, e.g., a signal on a communication link. Various communication links may be used, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a broadband network, or a point-to-point dial-up connection. Thus, the computer-readable medium can include a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a "non-volatile" medium) and a computer-readable transmission medium.

The instructions stored in memory 1510 may be implemented with software and / or firmware that programs processor (s) 1505 to perform the actions described above. In some embodiments, such software or firmware may be initially provided to the processing system 1500 by downloading it from the remote system via the computing system 1500 (e.g., via the network adapter 1530).

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented as, for example, programmable circuitry (e.g., one or more microprocessors) programmed with software and / or firmware, or may be implemented as a combination of special purpose hardware Lt; / RTI > The specialized hardware embedded circuit may be in the form of one or more ASICs, PLDs, FPGAs, etc., for example.

Remarks

The foregoing description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Many specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. In some instances, however, well-known details are not described so as not to obscure the present specification. In addition, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or " an embodiment " means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment . The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are they separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of the other embodiments. In addition, various features are described that may appear by some embodiments, but not by other embodiments. Similarly, various requirements are described that may be required in some embodiments, but not in other embodiments.

Generally, terms used herein have the generic meanings in the art in the context of this specification and in the specific context in which each term is used. Certain terms used to describe the specification are discussed below or elsewhere in the detailed description to provide the practitioner with additional guidance regarding the detailed description herein. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted using, for example, capital letters, italics, and / or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no effect on the scope and meaning of a term; The scope and meaning of a term is the same in the same context regardless of highlighting. It will be appreciated that the same elements may be described in more than one manner. Those skilled in the art will recognize that "memory" is a form of "storage " and that terms may sometimes be used interchangeably.

As a result, alternative languages and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, but no specific meaning is intended depending on whether a term is discussed or discussed herein. Synonyms for specific terms are provided. The description of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of the examples elsewhere in the detailed description, including examples of any of the terms discussed herein, is for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the description or any exemplary language. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to the various embodiments provided in the detailed description.

Without intending to further limit the scope of this disclosure, examples of tools, apparatus, methods, and their associated results in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure are provided above. It should be noted that a title or subtitle which should not limit the scope of this specification at all is used in the examples for convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this specification belongs. Where contradictory, the present document, including definitions, will control.

Claims (34)

A first antenna configured for transmission using a TVWS (Television White Space) frequency;
An antenna array configured for directional transmission on a WIFI frequency; And
At least one processor,
Receive a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;
Determine location information associated with the user device;
Determine a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And
An access point comprising a processor configured to transmit a second message over a WIFI frequency to a user device using a beam steering arrangement and an antenna array. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the location information is directional and determining location information comprises receiving the first message one after another at two antennas. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the one or more processors are further configured to wait for a period of time exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window is further configured to transmit the first message on the one or more chips and the access point . The method according to claim 1,
The location information is the location that was retrieved from the TVWS database. The method according to claim 1,
The access point further comprising a second antenna configured to provide omni-directional wireless communication, wherein the range of the second antenna is at least about 20% of the range of the first antenna. The method according to claim 1,
The range of the antenna array is at least 90% of the range of the first antenna. The method according to claim 1,
Way:
Receiving an uplink communication from the user equipment only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising transmitting to the user equipment a downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering configuration. At least one processor;
At least one processor:
Providing position information to an access point using a TVWS frequency; And
And receiving beam steered communications using the WIFI frequency based on the location information. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 21 > The method of claim 8,
An array configured to provide beam-steered communications using WIFI frequencies, and an omnidirectional antenna configured to provide communications using TVWS frequencies. The method of claim 8,
The location information is a location retrieved from the geographic location database. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the location information includes a unique identifier associated with the user communication device. The method of claim 8,
Way:
Transmitting an uplink communication to the access point only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising receiving downlink communications on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering configuration from the access point. The method of claim 12,
The downlink communication includes CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data. Receiving a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;
Determining location information associated with the user device;
Determining a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And
And transmitting the second message using a WIFI frequency to the user device using a beam steering arrangement. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the location information is directional and the step of determining location information comprises receiving the first message one after another at two antennas. 15. The method of claim 14,
Waiting for a period exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window corresponds to a transition from the TVWS to the WIFI function in one or more chips and one or more antennas. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the location information is a location retrieved from the TVWS database. 15. The method of claim 14,
Receiving an uplink communication from the user equipment only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising transmitting to the user equipment a downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering arrangement. 15. The method of claim 14,
≪ / RTI > further comprising transmitting CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data using a beam steering arrangement. A first antenna configured for transmission using a TVWS (Television White Space) frequency;
An antenna array configured for directional transmission on a WIFI frequency; And
At least one processor,
Receive a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;
Determine location information associated with the user device;
Determine a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And
An access point comprising a processor configured to transmit a second message over a WIFI frequency to a user device using a beam steering arrangement and an antenna array. The method of claim 20,
The location information is directional and determining location information comprises receiving the first message in succession at the two antennas; And / or
The location information is the location that was retrieved from the TVWS database. The method according to claim 20 or 21,
Wherein the one or more processors are further configured to wait for a period of time exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window is further configured to transmit the first message on the one or more chips and the access point . The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22,
The access point further comprising a second antenna configured to provide omni-directional wireless communication, wherein the range of the second antenna is at least about 20% of the range of the first antenna. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23,
The range of the antenna array is at least 90% of the range of the first antenna. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 24,
Way:
Receiving an uplink communication from the user equipment only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising transmitting to the user equipment a downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering configuration. At least one processor;
At least one processor:
Providing position information to an access point using a TVWS frequency; And
And receiving beam steered communications using the WIFI frequency based on the location information. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 21 > 27. The method of claim 26,
An array configured to provide beam-steered communications using WIFI frequencies, and an omnidirectional antenna configured to provide communications using TVWS frequencies. 26. The method of claim 26 or 27,
Location information is the location retrieved from the geographic location database; And / or
Wherein the location information includes a unique identifier associated with the user communication device. 29. The apparatus of any one of claims 26 to 28,
Way:
Transmitting an uplink communication to the access point only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising receiving downlink communications on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering configuration from the access point. The method of any one of claims 26 to 26,
The downlink communication includes CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data. Receiving a first message from a user device using a TVWS frequency;
Determining location information associated with the user device;
Determining a beam steering configuration based on the position information; And
And transmitting the second message using a WIFI frequency to the user device using a beam steering arrangement. 32. The method of claim 31,
Wherein the location information is directional and determining the location information comprises receiving the first message in succession at the two antennas; And / or
Wherein the location information is a location retrieved from the TVWS database. 32. The method of claim 31 or 32,
Waiting for a period exceeding the hysteresis window before transmitting the second message on the WIFI frequency, wherein the hysteresis window corresponds to a transition from the TVWS to the WIFI function in one or more chips and one or more antennas. 34. The method of any one of claims 31-33,
Way:
Receiving an uplink communication from the user equipment only on the TVWS frequency; And
Further comprising transmitting a downlink communication on the WIFI frequency using a beam steering arrangement to the user equipment; And / or
Way:
≪ / RTI > further comprising transmitting CSMA / CA signaling and channel control data using a beam steering arrangement.

Images